John and Jane Doe
by Belladonna von Richter
Summary: Only seven days ago his reputation was all that mattered. It seemed so pathetic now that he was forced to run for his life and ruin hers.
1. Chapter 1

_**Disclaimer:** I own nothing except the plot and some characters_

_**A/N: **I have revised everything because I was really unhappy with how it was turning out. I've had a lot of extra time as I haven't been able to get onto my computer at home so I went through and made some changes. Nothing major, just some wording, dialogue etc.  
Now that I'm vaguely happy with how it's going I might be more motivated to write and update regularly.  
Thank you to everyone who reads and reviewed my first attempt, it made my year reallly. And a HUGE thank you to my good friend Sarah for re-reading the chapters for me so patiently and not complaining even though I know you're over the whole thing - I totally owe you one_

* * *

Glancing at the petite figure seated next to him, Tristan sighed deeply before turning to focus his tired eyes once again on the long road ahead. The countryside flashed past the windows in an unnameable variety of colours, but lost in his thoughts, Tristan couldn't say where they were or even how long he'd been driving.

The day had been long and as the sun dipped below the distant horizon, his companion finally found the peace she needed in sleep.

The events of the last week had taken their toll on her. She was too stubborn and proud to willingly admit any weakness, but Tristan could see through her act. Her eyes never lied and whenever he looked into them, her pain was obvious in an instant.

Her pride was what amazed him the most. In a situation like theirs, he wouldn't have been surprised if she'd broken down and given up long ago. The fact that she simply refused to back down had proven to Tristan, what he had in many ways known all along; that she deserved his respect. Of course there had been moments; moments when everything seemed too much and he thought she was about to crack. Once again, her pride caught her. Tristan found the mask of courage and strength that she showed him was sometimes too real and too convincing. Only when she thought she was alone would she let her vulnerability show.

In order for them to make it this far they had had to show trust and faith in each other time and time again. Even so, she would only allow him to help her as much as she needed and no more. Despite her protests on the subject, he knew she was finding if difficult to trust him completely.

Out of the corner of his eye he could see her moving as though deep in a dream. He was willing to bet his precious last dollar that in her subconscious she was at home in her beloved town, with her mother, her friends, and if he knew her at all, probably even school. All the things he had taken her away from. No matter how many times she lectured him on not feeling guilty, on how it wasn't his fault and he was as much a victim here as she was, he couldn't believe it. She was so innocent and no matter how out of place he found himself to be in their new surroundings, she would always be even more so. In Tristan's mind it would be no wonder if she was weary of him. Her life had been so good and he knew he had ruined that in one night. All to help prove he and his friends deserved the title of 'Kings of Chilton'. It was hard to imagine that it was only seven days ago that his reputation was all that mattered; it seemed so pathetic and worthless now.

----------

Two Weeks Earlier

"Mary, Mary, Mary." Tristan smirked at the girl in front of him. She slowly turned to face him, a frown marring her delicate features.

"What do you want Tristan?"

"The pleasure of your company." He leaned against the locker next to hers, arms crossed casually against his chest. The final bell had rung and the students were vacating the halls with Friday night urgency. Soon Tristan would be joining them, his weekend comprised of being seen at all the right parties, saying all the right things to all the right people, and eventually leaving with the right kind of girl, but for now his attention was focused solely on the brunette standing before him.

"How would you know if my company's pleasurable?" she snapped leaving herself wide open for a habitual innuendo laced with enough sarcasm to hide the underlying veracity. Unfortunately for Tristan, she recognized the opening and continued on quickly, "I mean…I…you…what do you want Tristan?"

"Did you know that even your ears turn red when you're embarrassed?" he smiled, reaching out and placing a stray strand of hair back behind her ear where it belonged. His action surprised her and he managed to trail his fingers lightly down her neck before she collected her thoughts and pushed him away.

"Leave me alone." She slammed her locker shut before following the last remaining students towards the door.

"Mary, wait!" Tristan called, starting after her, "Rory!"

The use of her real name stopped Rory in her tracks and Tristan smiled, filing the trick for future reference.

"I have a bus to catch." She stated impatiently when he drew even with her.

"I'll give you a ride."

"I'd rather get the bus."

"Then I'll be quick." He knew hell would freeze over before Rory Gilmore willingly got into his car so didn't bother pushing the point.

"If only you would." Rory glanced at her watch then over her shoulder at the patiently idling bus.

"I got these." Tristan reached into his back pocket and pulled out two slightly crumpled tickets. Despite her attempts to look nonchalant he knew she was impressed.

"I thought these were sold out."

"They are these are the last two."

"Wow, congratulations." Rory forced herself to smile but it was obvious to anyone who'd seen the real thing that it was far from genuine, "I hope you have fun."

Once again she turned and walked away from him. This time however he was quick enough to grab her elbow and hold her back.

"We will. I'll pick you up at seven."

"Why?"

"Well, any later and we'll miss the start of the show."

"I'm not going with you Tristan."

"But I got tickets."

"Take someone else."

"Awwww, but Mary we both know you'd love to come." Tristan waved the tickets in front of her face as she leaned away from him.

"Actually Tristan I wouldn't…Please don't turn this into PJ Harvey all over again." She turned away and this time he let her go. She walked quickly back towards the bus not letting herself look back.

---------

"DuGrey! Where've you been?" Owen Cavanaugh clapped Tristan on the back as he sauntered over to join the small group of guys gathered on the expansive lawn.

"What day is it Owen?" Tristan asked, arching an eyebrow at the shorter, mousy haired junior.

"Monday." Owen answered immediately.

For the last three years, Tristan had been something of a hero to Owen. Ever since the older boy had taken the then awkward freshman under his wing and secured him a date to the Winter Formal with the hottest girl in school.

What Tristan had conveniently failed to mention was the reason behind his uncharacteristic act of charity.

A bet.

A challenge.

A dare.

The biggest loser at Chilton, as picked by Tristan's best friend and second in command Jake Mahoney, was to be matched with the girl he deemed to be the biggest conquest. Tristan lost the deciding game of poker and the task of making it happen had fallen to him.

After it all, Owen proved to be an important contribution to their group. He was willing to play a role for which no one had foreseen the need, the go-for. He would have been a Personal Assistant if they were paying him, but as it was he just did their dirty work or anything they simply couldn't be bothered doing themselves. He considered them friends and they thought of him when it was convenient. It sounds cold and on one hand it was, on the other however, it was a win-win situation; Tristan, Jake and the others got a slave of sorts and in return Owen became part of the "cool" crowd.

"Exactly." Tristan nodded at the boy now, "When am I ever at school before lunch on a Monday?"

"Never." Owen answered unnecessarily. Tristan was no longer listening as his attention was across the courtyard with the diminutive blue-eyed girl emerging from the building.

"Give it up." Matthew Conway advised when he followed his friends' gaze. He had been the first to notice Tristan's fascination with the Gilmore girl when she transferred to Chilton in their sophomore year and had seen him fail repeatedly in his attempts to get her attention. "She's not worth it."

Forcing himself to look at his friend, Tristan shook his head.

"I'm over the chase man."

"Then move on."

"The thrill is in the conquest." Tristan looked back over at Rory as she was flanked by Madeline, Louise and Paris.

"She's been rejecting you for almost three years now; I think her immunity to your charms is pretty much impenetrable." Jake pointed out.

"No, I just haven't found the right way to get to her yet."

"Give it up." Matthew repeated his earlier statement with more conviction. "There are plenty of easier chicks in the school."

"If you're in it for the challenge, go for Paris." Jake suggested as the four boys stared over the grass at the girls in question.

"I've known Paris since we were five." Tristan looked appalled, "She's more like a sister to me than anything else."

"I'd do her." Jake shrugged.

"So do her then and while you're at it get her to put in a good word with Rory for me." Tristan snapped, talking about what he couldn't have was doing nothing for his increasingly bad mood so he was thankful when the bell signalled the return to afternoon classes. Striding ahead of his friends, Tristan led them into the building, overtaking Rory and Paris who were headed in the same direction. The crowds in the corridors parted for the four boys as they always did and the two girls were soon lost in the wake.

"Ok, I have a plan." Jake threw his arm over Tristan's shoulder as they entered their classroom.


	2. Chapter 2

Friday

"All set?" Lorelai Gilmore placed a pizza box on the low slung table before settling back on the couch next to her daughter. Rory nodded and pointed the remote at the television across the room, moments later music flowed from the speakers and Pippi Longstockings rode across the screen in all her black and white splendour.

"Best movie ever!" Lorelai exclaimed excitedly, holding out her hand as Rory reached for a slice of pizza.

"Since when?" Rory raised an eyebrow.

"Since forever, you know when I was pregnant with you I watched this movie-"

"87 times." Rory cut her mother off. "I know the story but it's never been your favourite before."

"It's always been my favourite." Lorelai argued.

"No it hasn't." Rory contradicted, "You have several favourite movies and Pippi Longstockings has never been one of them."

"Yes it is." Lorelai pouted in a childlike manner.

"No it's not."

"Yes it is, yes it is, and…yes it is!"

"You are five." Rory laughed before they both turned their full attention to the screen. Despite having seen the movie more times than they could recall, it didn't take long before both females were totally absorbed in the story unfolding before them. So absorbed, that neither heard the frantic hammering on the front door until Paris burst into the living room.

"Paris!" Rory jumped to her feet, "What are you doing here? Were we meant to be studying? Coz I _swear _I didn't forget, I just-"

"Gilmore!" Paris interrupted, holding up a hand to silence Rory's panicked rambling. "Chill, I'm not here to study."

"Oh." Rory visibly deflated in relief, "Then how come you're here?"

"And what's with going all action hero on our door?" Lorelai looked past the two teenagers to the dent the violently swinging door had left in the wall behind it.

"Oh…I'll pay for it." Paris barely glanced at the damage before grabbing Rory's arm and dragging her down the short hallway to the latter's bedroom, "You need to get changed."

"What? Why?"

"Because you can't go dressed like that." Paris waved her arm dismissively at Rory's flannel pyjamas as she rifled through the wardrobe.

"Go where?" Rory's frown deepened in confusion, "The corner of Manchester and Colombo?"

"Not appropriate?" Paris asked looking down at the black mini and halter top she'd chosen.

"Not unless I'm Divine Brown."

"Right." Paris replaced the clothes and continued rummaging.

"Are you going to tell me what you're doing?" Rory pressed.

"Finding you an outfit."

"I meant _here_, why are you here and where do you think we're going?"

"Out."

"Out where?"

"Out out. I think we need to be more proactive in our social lives, you know, take some control and just put ourselves out there."

"Out where Paris?" Rory folded her arms and sank onto her bed. "I'm not going anywhere with you unless you explain this sudden need to spend more time with the exact type of people you always claim to have no patience for."

"Jake asked me out."

It was a small miracle that Paris' words were in the right order considering the rush they tumbled out of her mouth in. It was almost as if she believed they had to be said quickly before they were no longer true.

"Jake?"

"Jake Mahoney."

"Jake Mahoney asked you out?" Rory deadpanned.

"Uh huh." Paris nodded like a giddy schoolgirl – which she uncharacteristically was at that moment.

"You hate Jake Mahoney." Rory pointed out, still not quite believing that the person she was looking at was in fact Paris Gellar.

"No I don't."

"Paris, when his dad was under investigation for fraud you were president of the campaign to kick him out of Chilton."

"That was two years ago, I'm over it."

"Yeah but last I heard _he_ wasn't."

"Who told you that?" Paris closed the wardrobe and moved to open the duchess.

"Tristan."

"Tristan DuGrey?"

"…Uh, yeah."

"When were you talking to Tristan DuGrey?"

"Earlier in the week."

"Earlier in the week?"

"Wednesday if you must know…he was bugging me in the hallway and somewhere amongst his usual taunts, innuendos and crude pick-up lines, he may have mentioned being careful around Jake."

"Since when are you and Tristan friends?" Paris narrowed her eyes suspiciously, completely ignoring the point of Rory's explanation.

"We're not." Rory immediately and truthfully answered.

"Then why were you talking to him?" Paris insisted on pursuing the topic and seeing no way out Rory stood and blatantly changed tack,

"So you're going out with Jake huh?"

---------

"This place is dead." Matthew noted as he entered the pub a step behind Tristan and Jake. The three boys paused in the doorway taking in the sight before them. Faded fluorescent lights flickered above the bar creating an eerie, shifty atmosphere that was almost as dark as the night they'd stepped in from.

"It's a pub, it serves alcohol, it'll do." Jake shrugged. He crossed the room to sit next to the man slumped at the bar, the venue's lone patron.

"It's the only place in Hartford that we've never used our IDs in." Tristan pointed out.

"You mean the only place that hasn't figured out they're fake yet?" Matthew asked and Tristan punched him in the arm.

"Say it a little louder, I don't think the barman heard you."

"Sorry." Matthew muttered before they moved to join their friend.

"So are you ever going to tell us why we're here?" Tristan asked once all three had ordered and received their drinks from the solitary barman. "Coz you know Madeline's having a huge party tonight…"

"We went to a party at Madeline's last weekend." Jake took at tentative sip of his beer before knocking back half the glass in one gulp.

"Your point?"

"I want to do something different tonight."

"So we're hanging out in the lamest excuse for a "night-spot" in Connecticut?" Matthew scanned the empty building once again, noticing for the first time a pool table and jukebox tucked into the far corner; neither looked like they'd been used in the last decade.

"No one's stopping you from leaving." Jake snapped, "But Tristan and I are staying."

"Misty Bowden was asking if you're going to be there."

"Misty Bowden's a slut."

"That's never bothered you before." Tristan reminded him. He didn't particularly want to get caught in the middle of the argument but Jake's attitude had him puzzled.

"Well it does now and I'm staying here…just trust me ok."

"Ok." Tristan nodded ignoring his instincts that were screaming at him to take his car and get the hell out of there. The boys lapsed back into silence for a few minutes before Matthew stood up,

"This is stupid, there's no one else here and if you won't even tell us why _we're_ here then I'm leaving."

"Bye." Jake waved over his shoulder, eyes never straying from his drink. Matthew was almost at the door when Tristan jumped up and jogged after him.

"Wait up!"

"DuGrey!" Jake yelled, "Where're you going?"

"We came in my car. It's too far to walk so I'll give Matt a ride to Maddy's or wherever the hell he wants to go, then I'll come back."

"You'd better come back." Jake scowled and Tristan struggled to swallow a sarcastic reply, it was obvious that his friend wasn't in the mood to take a joke,

"I won't be long."

---------

Tristan didn't lie; half an hour after leaving Matthew at Madeline's he arrived back at the pub. The sight that greeted him stopped him dead. In the far corner on the bar Jake was playing pool with _Paris Gellar_. Neither of them noticed him approaching slowly, but when he cleared his throat his best friend looked up and laughed at the look of absolute shock written plainly across Tristan's face.

"Hey man you finally made it back."

"Uh, yeah, well I said I would…Hey Paris."

"Hey Tristan." Paris looked uncomfortable and out of her element. "I'll leave you guys to talk."

"No, no, no." Jake's arm snaked around her waist holding her in place as she tried to walk away, "Tristan and I don't need to talk. You and me however…"

"But…I…should…probably…keep Rory…company." Paris protested distractedly, half-heartedly pulling away from Jake as he trailed kisses down her neck.

"Rory's here?" Tristan's eyes immediately focused on the couple in front of him that he'd been subtly trying to avoid looking at. Being forced to watch his best friend spading the girl he had always felt a brotherly protectiveness for was not something he appreciated.

"Uh huh, right over there." Jake pointed and Tristan turned finding Rory in the familiar pose of book in one hand, coffee cup in the other.

"I'm going to see if she's ok." Paris insisted finally breaking away from Jake and crossing the room quickly.

"Told you I had a plan." Jake smiled sideways at Tristan.

"This is your plan? I thought you were kidding." Tristan frowned.

"My friend, you know I never kid. But seriously, this is perfect, I get Paris and Rory's right there just begging for you to keep her company."

"I seriously doubt Rory would beg for anything but my immediate demise." Tristan snorted.

"You'd be surprised." Jake insisted.

"How did you get them here?"

"You're not the only one who knows how to charm the females at Chilton."

"But Rory Gilmore and Paris Gellar meeting us in a dingy back-ally pub? It's just not them."

"It was actually pretty easy. I just laid it on thick until Paris caved and agreed to come on a date with me and Paris being Paris panicked at the last minute and ran to Rory for back-up. They didn't know what kind of place this was until it was too late and they were already here." Jake explained, loving how the look of disbelief etched across Tristan's face showed that he'd finally one-upped the "King of Chilton". A fact that wasn't lost on Tristan.

He was nodding slowly, taking it all in as Paris rejoined them, "I guess I'll leave you two 'lovebirds' alone."

"Play nice DuGrey." Paris warned before he went to sit at Rory's table. Rory barely glanced up as he slid into the seat opposite her.

"Hi."

"Hi." she returned.

"I thought I warned you to stay away from Jake." Tristan blurted out and Rory looked up startled by his tone.

"I'm not anywhere near Jake."

"But Paris is."

"Then maybe you should have warned her instead."

"You're her best friend, I figured you'd pass the message along."

"I'd hardly say I'm Paris' best friend."

"She brought you here tonight didn't she?"

"Louise and Madeline had other plans."

"You shouldn't have come."

"I didn't have a choice."

"You could have said no. If you didn't come then Paris wouldn't have either."

"Is somebody jealous?" Rory raised an eyebrow. She'd been more than happy to spend the night watching movies with her mother and so wasn't in the mood to be social and she definitely wasn't in the mood to deal with Tristan's cryptic accusations.

"Of Jake? Please, I am _not_ interested in Paris like that."

"I meant of Paris, you don't seem thrilled about sharing your best friend tonight."

Rory's statement shocked Tristan into momentary silence. What was he doing? Rory was the last person he wanted to pick a fight with. He never fought with Rory, sure they had had more than their share of arguments but _fighting_ was completely different. Fighting was serious and serious did not factor into whatever kind of relationship he and Rory shared. Continuing their current "conversation" was only going to ruin any chance he possibly had of completing his mission of the last three years. If Tristan DuGrey was anything he was not a good loser, he got what he wanted and there was no way one little girl was going to change that.

"What is your problem?" Rory finally snapped, bringing Tristan crashing back into reality.

"Jake's only after one thing."

"Oh and you're not?"

"We're not talking about me."

"Then what _are_ we talking about?"

Tristan hesitated at Rory's obvious annoyance and glanced behind him. Jake and Paris had gone back to their game of pool and appeared oblivious to everything else. Sighing he decided to let Paris learn Jake's tricks for herself and salvage what little chance of a civil exchange still remained.

Never mind…forget I said anything."

"Fine." Rory nodded tersely and sank back in her chair to resume her reading.

"So…do you want a drink or something? My shout." Tristan offered as filler to the harsh silence several minutes later.

"I'm good." Rory held up her cup as proof before her good manners got the better of her and she glanced up at him and smiled gently, "But thanks."

"No problem." Tristan returned the smile. A more comfortable quiet settled between the two and as his mind started to wander he began to absentmindedly drum his fingers against the table top.

"Do you mind?"

"Huh?" Tristan looked up distractedly, "Do I mind what?"

"Don't worry." Rory shook her head, breaking eye contact when the door behind them swung open and two men walked in. Both were wearing large bulky jackets and had a distinctive 'fresh from the farm' look about them,

"Uh Tristan…what kind of place is this?" Rory asked, an edge of nervousness floating just below the surface of her voice. The second man had thoroughly checked her out as he passed and was still casting curious looks in her direction as he chose a seat at the bar.

"Jake chose it." Tristan shrugged apologetically.

"It seems kinda dodgy."

"Yeah, I had no idea what it was like until we arrived." Tristan told the truth and shifted any blame off himself in one effort. "Don't worry, I'll protect you."

Rory rolled her eyes at his playful leer, "And here I thought you were going to act civilized for one night."

"I can do civilized."

"Prove it." She challenged jokingly.

"As you wish Ma'am." Tristan stood up and held out his hand. For a moment Rory thought he was going to ask her to dance but instead he pointed to her cup. "Would you like a refill?"

"You read my mind." She smiled, relieved. The cup was still half full but if Tristan was going to be polite she figured she should play along and return the favour. Tristan made his way up to the bar and waited for the bartender to finish pouring the other men's drinks before he was served.

"One coffee please."

"Sure thing." The man nodded and disappeared, reappearing a moment later and handing Tristan the steaming cup. Rory stepped up to him as he turned to make his way back to the table,

"Did you get sugar?"

She had approached him so quietly that Tristan yelped in fright and threw his hands backwards to steady himself, inadvertently pouring the hot liquid over the large man closest to him. Simultaneously both the men rose to their feet angrily.

"Dude I am so sorry."

Tristan was tall but these men were easily a foot taller and he wasn't dumb enough to take on a losing battle.

"It was an accident." Rory added, "My fault really."

Tristan pushed her behind him as they backed away from the advancing men. Across the room Paris and Jake had watched the scene unfold and now come to their friend's aid.

"Calm down man, it was an accident." Jake adopted the type of calm voice a teacher might use on a small child in an attempt to placate them.

"Well your pretty-boy friend here needs to learn to be more careful." The man snarled as he locked Tristan in a death stare.

Behind the group Paris was involved in a staring match of her own, only instead of a person; she was staring open-mouthed at a black satchel resting on the bar. Checking that no one was watching her; she crept forward and lifted the flap to get a closer look at the contents. Her suspicions confirmed, a small gasp left her lips. The sound was tiny but in the silence that currently filled the bar, she might as well have screamed.

The men spun around. Tristan and Jake swore. Paris froze and Rory screamed.


	3. Chapter 3

The green van left the car park and inconspicuously joined the traffic flow out of Hartford. Despite appearing large and roomy from the outside, the interior was a clutter of boxes and suitcases. Rory, Tristan, Paris and Jake were literally piled into the back, a tangle of twisted limbs.

"I can't feel my leg." Tristan complained looking pointedly at Paris who was draped awkwardly across his knees.

"Not your biggest problem right now." She frowned back, "In case you hadn't noticed, they have a gun and we're being kidnapped."

"Really! I had no idea." He replied sarcastically.

"Tristan you can be arrogant and dismissive about some things but right now, this is serious."

"Are you sure? Coz up till now I thought it was all a big joke."

"Do you want to die?"

"Are you threatening me?"

"No, but Dumb and Dumber up there are!" Paris pointed to the front of the vehicle where their abductors (who were addressing each other as Tom and Al) were arguing over radio stations.

"If they were going to kill us they would have done it by now." Tristan pointed out.

"Not necessarily." Rory's voice was quiet. Propped up against the opposite side of the van, her lower torso was under Jake and her legs across Paris'. "They only brought us with them because they were panicking and didn't know what else to do, besides it's not likely they would have gotten away with four homicides in the middle of a pub."

"Too public." Jake agreed.

"So what, you think they're taking us somewhere private where no one will ever find the bodies?" Tristan's flippant tone was all but gone now.

"It's a possibility." Paris closed her eyes and rubbed her temples, hoping to stop the tension headache she felt growing there.

"Hey," Jake attempted (unsuccessfully) to sit up straighter and lowered his voice to a whisper, "if we called the cops, would they be able to trace the call and find us?"

"They might." Paris looked interested, "Do you have your cell?"

"Yeah, I gave it to Rory to look after back at the pub."

"Yeah mine too." Paris and Jake turned to look at the second female expectantly.

"They're in my bag." Rory confirmed, "Which is on the table at the bar."

"You left it there?" Paris asked in disbelief.

"Well I didn't exactly get a chance to go back and get it did I?" Rory sulked guiltily as she thought of the book she'd left behind as well – Lorelai had bought it for her only days before.

"What about you?" Paris looked hopefully at Tristan.

"He doesn't have one." Jake sighed as Tristan shook his head silently.

"What? Since when do you not have a cell phone?" Paris exclaimed (well as much as one can exclaim while whispering.)

"Since Summer threw it out the window when I told her I didn't want to get back together."

"But that was weeks ago." Paris pointed out.

"How would you know?" Tristan eyed her suspiciously, "I never told anyone."

"I sit between Madeline and Louise." Paris offered as her only explanation. "Why haven't you bought a new one?"

"I just haven't gotten around to it yet." He shrugged apologetically.

"Typical." Paris rolled her eyes. No one bothered to agree with or contradict her. The four sank back into silence and their own thoughts. None of them knew how long they had been in the van for. The stacks of boxes effectively blocked any chance of identifying landmarks through the front windscreen and the haphazardly applied green paint covered the windows in the back.

According to Rory's watch it was 10 minutes after midnight. Her curfew wasn't until two; that left one hour and 50 minutes until she was officially late. With a sinking feeling in her stomach Rory remembered her last words to her mother as she was dragged out the door by Paris,

"Don't wait up for me."

Knowing Lorelai's trust in her daughter, there was a good chance that she would heed Rory's words and it would be morning before anyone realised she hadn't come home.

Across the van, Tristan's thoughts were following a similar pattern. The major difference was his lack of curfew. His parents had long since given up caring what time he stumbled up the stairs to his room. With the size of the house he doubted they even noticed when he didn't return alone. Tonight would be no different. Thinking he'd simply attended another in the long line of parties, no one would bother to check on him in the morning as previous encounters with a hung-over Tristan had taught them that lesson. It was quite likely that he wouldn't be missed until he failed to show for dinner that night. Even then it could be as late as Sunday night before anyone actually worried.

Jake's thoughts were more self-pitying than Rory and Tristan's combined. He didn't care how long it took his family to figure out he was gone, as far as he was concerned, the longer the better. Life within the Mahoney family was not one that appealed to him in the slightest. Between his workaholic father, the endless line of bimbo step-mothers and his practically perfect siblings, Jake had been looking for an out for years. Now he had it. The potential of the situation hadn't occurred to him straight away but after it became clear that ringing the police wasn't an option, Jake realised he didn't want help. He didn't believe that Tweedledum and Tweedledee in the front seats would kill them. Things like that just didn't happen to people with his social standing. Jake was certain that it wouldn't be long until he was free and on his way to a new life – with his father's credit card securely in his back pocket.

What annoyed him however, was Paris. It had taken him the better part of a week to talk her into coming out tonight. She had been suspicious initially but he'd expected that. When he had been forced to apologise profusely for the way he'd treated her in the past she'd buckled. Eventually she believed the he was truly sorry and genuinely interested in her.

Up until now the nigh had been going well. Rory was there to keep Tristan occupied, Paris was actually acting human and he'd even managed to get a couple of drinks in her. Jake had been sure that by the end of the night he would have succeeded in breaking Chilton's Ice Queen. Then she had to give in to her curiosity and look in the stupid –

"Paris," Jake spoke as the thought occurred to him, "what was in the bag?"

"Huh?" she broke out of her trance at the sound of her name. Tristan and Rory also returned to reality and listened curiously.

"The bag you looked in at the pub, the black one." Jake clarified, "What was in it?"

"Oh. Counterfeit money. Mostly 50s and 100s but there could have been more, I only got a glance. Paris explained and Rory's eyes widened.

"Ok…I figured it was drugs or something." Tristan glanced toward the front of the van, "They look more like drug dealers don't you think?"

"Woulda been my first guess." Jake agreed. Paris opened her mouth to comment but the words caught in her throat as the van began to slow. They had been travelling on a gravel road for a while now and it crunched under the tyres when they came to a halt. Al and Tom climbed out and moved toward the back of the van while the teenagers waited anxiously for the doors to open and reveal their destination.

----------

Every light in the house was on. Truthfully it couldn't really be classified as a house, more of a shack in appearance and closer in size to a large garden shed. People like Wes Craven had spent years and millions of dollars trying to recreate the effects that years of abandonment and neglect had had on this place. Tall trees and thick undergrowth crept up and overshadowed three sides of the building. On the forth side the native vegetation had been hacked away and the narrow shingle road simply ended at the front door. Behind the van nature engulfed the trail and the gently swaying branches made the darkness seem alive.

The inside was in no better condition. Moth eaten rugs covered rotten floorboards. Two mouldy looking armchairs faced an outdated radio in the centre of the one roomed structure. A makeshift kitchen was set up in one corner and two single beds filled another.

For a moment Rory thought that this was where they were to stay. A fleeting hopeful smile touched her lips as the many obvious escape routes called to her. The momentary calm that filled her vanished when Al threw back a particularly holey rug to reveal a padlocked trapdoor. Rory's heart clenched and she was sure she actually heard Paris whimper while they watched Al search for the key. After some confusion as to who had the key and a fair bit of swearing at the rusted lock, the door too was thrown back and Tom quickly ushered the stunned group into the hole.

Once the door was shut the only light was the tiny shafts that filtered between the cracks and holes in the floorboards. The floor above them was low. So low, that even Paris, being the shortest, had been head and shoulders above it before Tom slammed the door forcing them all o kneel in the dirt at their feet.

When the sound of the lock sliding home had snapped everyone out of their silent pleas for at least one of their abductors to have a conscience, they'd all retreated to separate corners. No one spoke and it seemed to Tristan that in the darkness the full reality was finally hitting home.

----------

They say that when one of your senses is taken away, your others become stronger. Sitting in the corner of their cold, damp cell, Tristan realised just how true this was. In the absence of light he could barely make out his hand inches from his nose and didn't have a chance of seeing a person huddled several metres away. With his remaining senses in overdrive however, he had a pretty clear mental image of his surroundings. He knew that Paris was hunched in the corner directly opposite him, Rory to his right and Jake to his left. It was Tristan's experience with girls that he expected that they should be hysterical and sobbing in a situation like this, but Rory and Paris were silent.

Despite their calm exteriors all four teenagers were equally scared inside. They were all used to being in control of every situation and now that that control had been taken away none of them knew how to act.

If they were to have any chance of escaping, or even staying sane and surviving the night, someone was going to have to take charge and keep the group united and strong. They outnumbered their captors and were without question smarter but the only problem with _keeping_ their group united was the fact that they'd never been united to start with. If it wasn't for Jake's need to claim Tristan's title, Tristan's desire to retain it and Paris' incapacity to cope in social situations coupled with Rory's inability to say no, then they would never have been together to begin with.

Staying silent and still while trying to get her thoughts in order seemed like the best option to Rory. Al and Tom's heavy footsteps could be heard overhead and the lock was firmly in place so there was no hope of escape right then anyway. Rory's watch had no light so she had no idea of the time or how long till sunrise. She could only wait and hope that when it did come up more light would filter between the floorboards and they'd all be in a better state of mind for both thinking and talking.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: **_I just want to say a HUGE wow at the response I got from my last author's note! I was not expecting anything like the response I got from you all. So THANK YOU so so so so SO much for telling me that you still like this story. I can't believe that you're still interested in it after the long delay. I had seriously lost interest in this story and kind of in Gilmore Girls too (shock horror I know) but with all you guys encouraging me to continue and the fact that Gilmore Girls is coming back on tv here on Monday, RIGHT FROM THE START (eg Tristan!) I have been motivated to write another chapter. I'm not entirely convinced that it's my best ever work so tell me if I suck ok.  
Right, enough with the rambling, on with the story and I hope you all like it ._

_Cherie_

_----------_

The morning dawned bright and early, but locked in their underground prison, the teenagers were none the wiser. Jake was the only one who had managed to get any sleep but even he was just dozing. Curled up in a ball on her side, Rory could not think of one place on her body that didn't ache. Even her teeth hurt from clenching them in fear all night.

Movement above them brought the four corners to life as Jake woke and the others slowly sat up. Rubbing the back of her neck Paris looked at the floor above them as chairs scraped across it and the unmistakable smell of bacon filtered through the gaps.

"Guess it's feeding time." She frowned.

"Do you think they're going to feed us?" Tristan wondered aloud, gaining a scowl from Paris that in the darkness he missed.

"Doubt it. Why would they care if we lose a bit of weight."

"If they're aiming to kill us I'd rather they just shot us." Rory whispered in case they heard her and got ideas. Despite the current pain she was in she had no desire to die any time in the near future, although depriving her of coffee and food was a kind of death in itself. While Paris didn't seem to be particularly worried, the boys apparently had the same attitude as Rory when it came to food.

"If I had of known this was going to be an all-nighter I would have brought provisions." Jake grumbled only slightly louder than his stomach.

"What do you think's going to happen to us now?" Rory asked, looking blindly around the area.

"Well I doubt they're going to just let us go, they'd think we were just going to go straight to the cops." Paris said.

"Which we would." Rory jumped in quickly.

"What if we promised them that we wouldn't?" Tristan suggested.

"Do you really think they'd believe that?" Paris scoffed, "I mean they're not the sharpest tools in the shed but I don't think they're _that_ dumb."

"They might be." Tristan shrugged, "What do _you _suggest we do then Paris?"

"Well first of all, could we meet in the middle of this hole? I'm getting sick of talking to nothing." She asked in a tone that left no room for argument.

They soon found out that meeting in the middle was going to be easier said than done, as none of them had the faintest clue where the middle was. After several minutes of crawling around in the dirt Tristan and Rory were the first to make contact.

"Ow." Rory rubbed her forehead while Tristan did the same.

"Sorry, didn't see you there." He smiled at the vague figure in front of him.

"That's alright, just don't let it happen again." She scolded, Tristan's light mood caught and Rory realised that by joking around the situation seemed less real, less serious and less deadly. Paris of course didn't view this as a good thing.

"Would you two get over here and concentrate? Unless of course you would like to die in the saddest excuse for a basement in Connecticut."

Still giggling, Rory and Tristan moved in the direction of her voice and a moment later when Jake reached them, the four huddled closely where they could all see the shapes of the others.

"Rory shut up!" Paris snapped and when Rory failed to stifle her laughter, Paris only grew angrier, "I'm serious Gilmore, shut up or do I have to slap you?"

"Oooh, chick fight!" Jake grinned earning himself a punch in the arm from Tristan,

"Don't give her reason to kill you." He hissed before turning his attention to Rory and Paris, "Is she delirious?" he asked the latter.

"Not yet, but I think she's getting there." Paris frowned. "Rory, I need you to be calm ok? Can you do that?"

"Sorry." Rory put all her energy into focusing on Paris' words and stopping the giggles. She'd been listening to them talk and when Tristan said 'delirious' she had started to panic a bit. None of them could afford to go off the rails and frankly Rory was disappointed in herself for being so weak so soon in the game. "I'm good now." She nodded to Paris who smiled patiently and addressed the others.

"No one else is going to break down on me are they?"

"Hey! I did not break down!" Rory's defences immediately went up, "That was not a break down! Trust me if I broke down you'd know."

"It's ok Rory." Tristan said sympathetically, lightly touching her arm.

"Don't condescend me Tristan, I'm not a baby and I'm not about to break down in tears and refuse to get up ok!" she snapped wrenching her arm out of his reach.

"I wasn't implying that you were."

"Good, don't."

"Ok, so obviously we need to get out of here." Paris interrupted before Tristan could reply and make it worse.

"Obviously." Rory repeated, "But how are we meant to do that? I saw the padlock they've got on that trapdoor; I'd say they're not looking for us to escape anytime soon."

"Yeah, I noticed that too but I've been thinking about it and I have a couple of ideas." Jake joined the conversation now that he deemed it safe.

"Such as?" Tristan pressed.

"Well if we hide in the corners and wait for them to open the door, then they won't be able to see us and we'll be able to attack them without warning and get out."

"That plan has so many problems that it's not even funny." Paris said immediately.

"Such as?" Jake asked offended.

"Well, one; how do we know they're ever going to open the door? They've shown no signs of intending to feed or check on us so far, what makes you think they're going to suddenly start caring now? Two, they have a gun. Three; how exactly do you intend to attack them? Yes, we outnumber them but we're in an extremely confined space and I doubt they're going to get in this hole if they can't see where we are. And even if they're dumb enough to do that then have you seen the size of them? Ballerinas they ain't so they won't both fit at once so one will have to go first and if we attack him then guy number two isn't going to come down here, let us jump on him and escape is he? Four; they have a gun. Five; it's impossible to _sit_ still on this ground let alone sneak up on someone who is looking for us and six; _they have a GUN_!"

"Ok, so it needs a little work." Jake sulked as his plan was torn to shreds before him.

"It needs a whole new concept." Paris rolled her eyes, "Does anyone else have any ideas?"

Tristan and Rory sat in silence for a moment, each waiting for the other to speak. With neither coming up with a brilliant plan and Paris become more impatient by the second, Rory spoke quietly and to the ground,

"We could dig?"

"Yeah," Tristan mimicked her pose and tone, "A tunnel."

"With what?"

"Our hands?" Rory still spoke to the dirt under her knees.

"That would take months, we'd starve before we got outside the building."

"We could dig fast." Tristan suggested.

"Hopeless." Paris threw her hands up in frustration as they knew she would. Her hand hit the floor above them and splintered, rotten wood rained down for a moment. "Ow." Paris shook her hand and put her finger in her mouth where it was beginning to bleed.

"Oi! Quiet down there!" a gruff voice yelled from above, accompanied by what sounded like a metal pole being banged against the floor. Rory cringed and hid her head as yet more splinter fell but when she looked up a moment later, Paris was smiling.

"What?" she asked suspiciously.

"I know how we can get out." Paris grinned, "We just have to wait a while.

----------

It was several hours later that Paris' plan could finally be put into action. The heavy footsteps above left and the van outside could be heard starting. After it spluttered into life and the noise of the engine faded, Paris made them all stay still and silent for a further five minutes before she gave them the ok to begin. They had spent a good deal of time after discussing the plan at length, looking for the best place for it to carried out. Eventually they had decided on an area close to the corner Tristan had favoured on their arrival here. The wooden floor was almost entirely rotten here and several 20 cent piece sized holes had already appeared. Rory and Paris crouched nearby while Tristan and Jake lay on their backs under the selected space.

"Ready?" Tristan asked.

"Yeah." Jake nodded raising his legs, "One…Two…Three!"

On two, both boys bend their knees and when Jake yelled three, they kicked upwards as hard as they could. Wood showered down on them and they covered their heads with their arms while Rory and Paris attempted to grab the larger bits before they could do any damage.

"It's working." Paris smiled, "Keep going."

Rolling back into position Tristan and Jake repeated the action two more times before the hole was big enough that they could pull the rest down with their hands. Like crawling in the dark, the reality was harder than the theory and it took several minutes for the four to remove enough of the shattered planks to allow them to climb through.

Standing up through the gap they'd created, Tristan breathed what felt like the first breath of fresh air of his life. He noticed that the sun was up and judging by the length of the shadows had been for hours.

"C'mon, let us out." Jake said impatiently and Tristan hoisted himself up onto the floor. Standing, he bent down and took Rory's outstretched hands. Jake boosted her from below and Tristan easily pulled her up and onto her feet. Paris climbed out in the same way but Jake was tall enough to be able to manage it on his own.

"Let's go." Paris nodded towards the back door and moved towards it followed closely by Rory. They pulled it open and were about to step out into the sunlight when they noticed the boys weren't following.

"What are you doing?" Paris hissed, "Hurry up."

"In a minute." Tristan held up a hand as he rifled through the kitchen cupboards and drawers. Jake was doing the same in the cabinets next to the single beds.

"They kidnapped us and locked us in a hole in the ground, the least we can do is steal some of their stuff." Jake explained.

"No the least we can do is go to the police." Paris frowned, "If you steal their things then you're just as bad as them."

"Call it insurance." Jake held up a glistening gun, checking that it was loaded before tucking it into his belt.

"You are not taking their gun!" Paris exclaimed in disbelief.

"If we have it then they can't use it on us." Tristan justified his friend's actions. "Anyone hungry?"

"Yes!" Rory ran towards him, reaching for the full packet of biscuits he held. Sitting on the floor she began quickly devouring them. Crossing the room, Jake pulled a box of some kind of breakfast cereal from the cupboard and poured it into his mouth before moving to the fridge in search of milk. Eventually Paris' hunger won out and she begrudgingly took the food Tristan offered her. There wasn't a lot of food in the house and the ravenous teenagers managed to consume almost all of it before the van crunched up the driveway.

"Fuck!" Tristan exclaimed dropping his container of ice cream.

"Out the back!" Paris instructed, ushering the other three towards the door before pulling it shut behind herself seconds before the front door opened and Al stepped into his trashed house.

"What the fuck!" he yelled crossing to look down through the destroyed floorboards into the hole. "Oi Tom! They've fucking gone!"

"What d'ya mean gone?" Tom followed his accomplice into the house, swearing at the sight that awaited him.

Behind the house there was no where else to go. The bush was impenetrably thick and the space that ran along the back of the shed was less than a metre wide.

"Now what?" Rory whispered, breathing slowly and deeply to try and delay the panic she felt rising.

"Follow me." Tristan took the lead and lead them around the side of the building. The going was painfully slow and every window they passed had to be crawled under. When they eventually reached the front, Tristan turned to face them, "When I tell you, run as fast as you can straight into the back of the van ok?"

"We're stealing their van now?" Paris sounded almost as close to panic as Rory was feeling.

"Yes." Tristan nodded, "Stay here until you see me wave ok?"

Without waiting for consent from the others, he began working his way down the driveway towards the front of the van. Keeping to the trees he circled around the front in a suicide dash across the open plain of the driveway. Once safely in the shelter of the thick growth of the other side, Tristan raised himself up to see through the driver's side window. The keys were dangling from the ignition. Tristan smiled to himself but movement from inside the house raised his heartbeat even further. Checking quickly that neither man was looking outside, he ran towards the van with his head down. The vehicle hid him from the others but once he was inside they could see the van moving slightly as he shifted his weight.

"C'mon Tris, what are you doing?" Rory whispered as much to herself as to anyone else. Apparently today was the day that hell had frozen over as she found herself worrying about the safety of Tristan DuGray. The thought had barely occurred to her when the back doors of the van were thrown open and Tristan waved wildly at them to come. The distance across the clear driveway couldn't have been more than 10 metres but to the three targets sprinting across it, it could have been a million miles. An angry shout from within the house told Tristan that his friends had been spotted as he jumped into the driver's seat and gunned the engine.

Paris was first into the van with Rory and Jake diving in less than a second behind her.

"Drive!" Jake yelled looking behind them as Tristan obeyed and Al and Tom ran after them in vain. Once Tristan managed to get control of the swinging van, Jake detangled himself from the girls and pulled the double back doors shut before sinking to the floor. Maybe he _would_ just go home after all.


	5. Chapter 5

**_Ok, for those of you that knew how close I was to canning this story altogether you may be surprised at the 'quickness' of this update. After your reviews asking me to continue I have obviously reconsidered and am writing again. Thank you especially to LoVe23, KeitaWolf, Mrs.Williamthebloody and whyshouldicare1 – without whom this chapter would not have been written. You all gave me the reality check that I needed as well as helped me to figure out why no one had reviewed after asking me to write more. I hope that this chapter lives up to what you all seem to expect  and if it doesn't I hope that you'll let me know why and help me to improve it – oh and yeah I know it's shorter than the other chapters but I wanted to post it soon so that I could include this authors note and apologise to you all for my so called "flakiness". It won't happen again an I'll write this story till the end or until you all get sick or it (which ever happens first lol). Ok, enough from me – on with the story!_**

* * *

'Tristan is a good driver.' Paris muttered to herself as the van swerved wildly around another corner. She'd been in a car with him before and knew he was probably the best driver there, but that didn't stop her panicking every time the van tilted dangerously.

"Could you slow down please?" Rory called, saving Paris from having to ask. "The last thing we need right now is to crash."

"We're not going to crash." Tristan assured her. "So, does anyone have a plan yet? I mean we got out of the house but we can't just drive forever."

"We drive till we get to a town, where we will go straight to the nearest police station and report everything." Paris answered immediately.

"We've been driving for ages and we've yet to see any sign of civilisation." Rory pointed out, "Do you know where we are?"

"No idea, but this road has to go somewhere right?"

"But what if we run out of petrol before we get where the road goes?"

"Honestly Rory, enough with the what ifs, we're going to be fine now."

"Can you guarantee that Gellar?" Jake turned around in his seat next to Tristan.

"Well no…but we need to think positively. I mean we escaped from Tom and Al so even if we do run out of petrol or something of the sort then we'll find a way to fix it." Paris scowled at him.

"Like what? Inventing the magical van that runs on happy thoughts?"

"Dude, don't provoke her." Tristan sighed, "I'm sick of the fighting."

"You're just scared she's gonna turn on you next." Jake taunted his friend. Tristan didn't reply, choosing to instead concentrate on the road he was meant to be navigating.

"Uh guys…" Rory spoke hesitantly a moment later. "What's this?"

"Wha-" Paris cut herself off mid-word when she saw what Rory was holding. The black satchel was instantly recognisable.

"Holy crap." Jake held out his hand for the bag. When Rory passed it to him, he quickly opened it. "It's full."

"Of money?" Tristan glanced sideways at him.

"Yeah." Jake nodded, "We're rich."

"It's not real." Rory reminded him.

"We're not keeping it." Paris glared at the other occupants of the van, "It's not ours and it's not legal. We'll give it to the cops when we get there."

No one spoke for a long time after that. Paris and Rory eventually dozed off in the back, making up for the sleep they'd missed the previous night. Tristan drove faster. Without the girls awake to worry about it, he pushed the accelerator as far as it would go and tried to leave all his problems in the dust.

Some time later Jake sat up straight and pointed to a glint in the distance,

"Tris…can you see-"

"Yeah." Tristan cut him off, "I saw it about 10 minutes ago. I think it's a town."

Now that they knew they had help nearby, both boys relaxed considerably. It took just over a further 15 minutes to reach the outskirts of the city.

"Dude, pull up over there." Jake pointed to a small petrol station.

"What? Why?." Tristan frowned.

"Coz I haven't seen a toilet in the last 18 hours, that's why."

"Can't you just wait till we get to the police station?"

"No, I need to go now." Jake insisted, "Pull up here."

"Paris will have a fit."

"Paris won't know. I'll be two secs, in and out, she's asleep so she'll never know."

"Alright." Tristan caved, "I might get something to eat while we're here."

After parking the van, they slowly stepped out onto the footpath, careful not to wake the sleeping girls.

"Don't be long." Tristan warned before heading into the shop.

The homeless guy on the footpath seemed to see right through Tristan's dirty clothes to the rich kid he was underneath. They stared at him, holding out their hands for money that he couldn't give even if he wanted to. For all his breeding and the strictness of his proper upbringing, he was nothing without his father's money. Money that he didn't currently have. The accusing glares followed him into the store and Tristan knew exactly what they were thinking. Nevertheless it felt good to be back amongst society, even if it wasn't the type of society that he was used to. The shop didn't have much in the way of food. Mostly it was parts and accessories for cars, however near the counter there was a small stand of candy bars. As Tristan browsed through the selection, he felt eyes burning into him. Glancing up he found the shop assistant staring at him curiously, Tristan had no recollection of ever seeing the girl before so he just smiled politely and returned his attention to the candy.

"Uh, I'll just take these two." He eventually made his choice and looked up again.

"Ok." The girl smiled, still looking at him strangely, "Have I seen you before?"

"Uh…I really don't think so." Tristan shook his head.

"Yes I have!" she exclaimed, recognition filling her eyes, "You're the guy off the TV."

"The TV?" Tristan frowned, "Uh, no I think you have the wrong person."

"No, I'm sure it was you. You've been on all day." She insisted. Mounted on the wall behind the counter was a TV. Picking up the remote the girl turned it on and changed to the 24 hour news channel. What Tristan saw made him drop the candy without another thought.

"…the four teenagers have been identified as Jake Mahoney, Paris Gellar and Tristan DuGrey of Hartford and Lorelai 'Rory' Gilmore of Stars Hollow." The news reader was saying as each of their pictures flashed across the screen before being replaced with an image of a quiet street, "They were last seen leaving this downtown Hartford pub with Albert Buchanan and Thomas Lee, driving a green 1987 Ford van, licence plate; TF1437. Police have issued warrants for all six members of the gang who are being described as armed and dangerous. We go now to Sarah Poynter who is live in Hartford with a witness at the scene…Sarah?"

Tristan's stomach rose higher and higher as his heart clenched tighter and tighter. His eyes glued to the screen he watched it change,

"Yes, Kate, I'm here with Robert Judd. Robert you claim to have been in the bar when the pick up took place?"

"Yeah." The guy nodded. "I was there. The kids were just mucking about like they didn't have a care in the world, then those two brutes came in, showed them the money and they all left together."

"What!" Tristan exclaimed as he finally recognised the man, "But he was asleep! How would he know what happened?"

Realising he'd spoken out loud, Tristan glanced down at the assistant who was by now extremely pale,

"I'm sorry Sir but I'm gonna have to call the cops now." She smiled apologetically as she reached for the phone.

"No!" Tristan grabbed her arm. "Please, you really don't want to do that."

"Are you threatening me?" she fought to free her arm from his grip.

"What? Oh, no. Look I'm sorry but please don't call the cops." He begged after letting her go.

"I have to. There's a warrant out for you…they say you're dangerous." She was shaking now.

"Do I look dangerous?" Tristan held his arms away from his body. Big mistake, he realised too late as his action revealed the butt of the gun he'd tucked into his pants when he'd confiscated it off Jake earlier.

"Omigod!" the girl's hands flew to the phone and before Tristan could move she'd dialled the emergency number. Cursing loudly Tristan did the first thing that came to mind; he ran. He burst through the door onto the footpath as Jake came around the side of the building.

"You look like you've seen a ghost." He laughed as Tristan looked around wildly.

"We have to go."

"What? What's the rush?"

"I'll explain in the van, we just have to go…now!" he yelled when Jake didn't follow his lead across the car park.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: **_Well once again thank you all for your reviews. I wasn't intending to write and post this chapter so soon (so it's probably not that great) but I just found out that I'm going away this Sunday and I won't be near a computer until Christmas at the earliest (and that's not certain) so I won't be able to update for a long time. Christmas will be the earliest if I get time but from New Years onwards it's possible that I will be going away again and won't be back till late January-early February so I might not update till then. But in saying that, I might get inspired and write a few chapter on paper that I can type whenever I happen to get a few days access to a computer. Ok enough from me and I hope you all like this chapter – if not tell me WHY :)_

Tristan threw the van into gear and floored it out of the car park. Horns blared as the seemingly suicidal driver drove headlong into the traffic, swerving wildly between lanes.

"DuGrey!" Jake yelled trying desperately to get his friend's attention, waving with one hand while the other struggled with his seatbelt, "What the hell is going on?"

Between the yelling and the less than smooth ride they were currently experiencing, the two girls in the back woke with a jolt.

"What the…" Rory held her head after it connected painfully with the roof.

"Tristan!" Paris yelled, horrified, "What the hell are you doing!"

"Driving." He glanced over his shoulder, veering towards the other side of the road in the process.

"Watch the road!" Paris and Jake yelled simultaneously.

"Stop!" Rory's eyes went wide. Registering the urgency in her voice, Tristan swung the van into a nearby alleyway, coming to a stop between rows of rubbish bins and dumpsters. Throwing the backdoors open, Rory leapt out and sank to her knees on the concrete.

"Uh…" Paris craned her neck so she could see Rory's face, "Are you ok?"

"Is she throwing up?" Jake screwed his nose up, remaining firmly in his seat while Tristan climbed into the back.

Rising unsteadily back to her feet, Rory sheepishly turned back to face the others.

"Feel better?" Paris raised an eyebrow and held out her hand to help Rory back into the van.

"Yeah, sorry."

"Don't be sorry." Paris rolled her eyes before rounding on Tristan, "Gonna tell us why you were driving like that now?"

----------

"We have to go to the police." Paris decided when Tristan finished his story.

"Turn ourselves in?" Jake asked in disbelief, "We can't do that, we'll go to jail. Do you know what they'd do to people like us in jail?"

"We won't go to jail." Paris countered calmly, "We're innocent. Innocent people don't go to jail."

"Yes they do." Tristan pointed out, "It happens all the time and that's what'll happen to us. All the evidence points to us being involved. We were at the scene of the crime, we left with the _real_ bad guys, we're still driving their van and we have the money."

"But we didn't do anything wrong." Paris continued to protest, "What do you want to do? Stay on the run forever?"

"No, but…"

"But what? If we don't go to the cops now then that's what we'll be doing for the rest of our lives. And when we get caught – which we will – they'll never believe us that we're innocent. Only guilty people have reason to run."

"Be realistic Gellar!" Jake snapped, "Look at it from their point of view. We're bored upper-class teenagers who, in our quest for excitement got in with the wrong crowd and we're now wanted felons."

"If we go to the police and explain what happened then they have to believe us. We can take them to Al and Tom's house, all the evidence is there."

"And you know where it is do you?" Tristan raised an eyebrow, "We weren't exactly paying attention to where we were going when we left."

"But we know what road we came into town on, we can just follow that-"

"No we can't." Jake interrupted, "While you were sleeping we went through at least 10 intersections, there are a million roads the house could be down."

"I still want to go to the police." Paris folded her arms and glared at the two boys sitting opposite her.

"I agree with Paris." Rory finally spoke up. She was sitting on the back bumper of the van, waiting for her stomach to settle. "I just want to go home."

"If we go to the cops, I doubt we'll be going home for a long time." Jake spoke in a patronising tone as if speaking to a small dim-witted child; a fact that did not go unnoticed by Rory.

"If we go on the run then we'll _never_ be going home." She spoke as slowly as he had.

"Can we please just go home?" Paris never begged and Tristan sighed, looking back and forth between the two girls for a moment before shrugging,

"Looks like we're going to the cops."

"What!" Jake's face twisted at Tristan's betrayal, "I thought you were on my side!"

"I'm not on anyone's side." Tristan shrugged again as he stood to return to the driver's seat, "Let's just get this over with."

Jake's muttering went ignored by the others as the van pulled onto the road, heading back the way they'd come. The sun had set while they were talking in the alley and the streets around them were all but deserted.

"What the hell…" Tristan mumbled to himself as he noticed headlights on full-beam in the rearview mirror. They were coming up fast behind the van, but instead of passing it like he expected, they began to flash.

"Is it the cops?" Jake wound down his window to look behind.

"No." Tristan shook his head, "There're no lights on the roof."

"Well who is it then?" Paris asked. Despite having rearranged the boxes to make themselves more comfortable, there was nothing they could do to fix the painted windows and so neither Paris nor Rory could see a thing.

"I don't know." Tristan admitted nervously as Jake quickly pulled his head back into the van.

"They're coming up your side."

Sure enough, a moment later the black four-wheel drive pulled even with the van.

"Holy fuck!" Tristan yelled. The faces looking back at him were all too familiar and he changed gears and coaxed the van forward.

"Who is-" Rory began but was cut off by a voice she recognised.

"Pull over you little shits!"

"Omigod!" Paris' hands flew to her mouth, "It's _them_."

"Don't pull over." Rory yelled to Tristan.

"Don't worry, I wasn't intending to." Tristan assured her through clenched teeth as the two vehicles raced on side by side.

"Dude that's a F150." Jake pointed out, "We're never gonna outrun it in this."

"We don't have to." Tristan's eyes were fixed dead-ahead and following his gaze, Rory and Paris both inhaled quickly.

"Oh god." Rory mumbled covering her head with her arms as Paris slid behind a pile of boxes for protection.

The narrow bridge drew closer with neither Tristan nor the truck showing any signs of backing off.

"It's been nice knowing you." Jake whispered, half to Tristan, half to the girls and half to himself.

"Ditto." Tristan answered. With less than 50 metres remaining between the cars and the bridge, all four occupants of the van believed that these were their last moments. Tristan almost closed his eyes but they flew open when Jake hit his arm.

"We won." His eyes were wide as if he didn't believe what he was seeing. Turning to look, Tristan saw that his friend was right. The F150 was slowing down and looked ready to pull in behind them.

"Oh thank God." Tristan straightened the van so it was aiming for the centre of the bridge. A collective sigh or relief swept through the vehicle as the front wheels crossed the line onto the newer concrete of the one-lane bridge. But, as in all car chases, they relaxed too soon. The front bumper of the four-wheel drive connected with the rear tyre of the van, throwing the four teenager forward. Tristan and Jake were wearing seatbelts but Rory and Paris flew into the back of the bench seat. Before any of them had time to recover, the other vehicle slammed into the van again and this time Tristan was unable to hold it on course. The van spun around and slid sideways on two wheels down the road. Sparks were flying everywhere as parts broke and dragged dangerously along the concrete. Before the van could tip completely it smashed into the bridges barrier with a sickening crash. Momentum combined with the sheer size of the van meant the metal fence didn't stand a chance. It buckled almost immediately and the van flew into mid-air in a spectacular arc.

Inside the van, panic ensued. The screams were loud enough to be heard for miles, carried by the still night. Most of the residents of the small town would later report that after the squealing tyres and terrified screams, the deafening splash was followed by silence. Nothing but silence.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: **_Ok, so this is the next chapter. Thank you for your patience, I know it took awhile to get this chapter up, but I'm back from holiday until further notice lol. I don't start my course until late Feb so until then there's the chance that I may get dragged on unexpected roadtrips with my friends. Anyway, this chapter is short, I warn you now so you won't be TOO disappointed. There's not alot that can happen at the moment and I felt that the events in this chapter were needed - you'll get it as you read..._

Tristan opened his eyes. Slowly at first and then wide in panic. Murky water was pressing in all around him, narrowing his vision to almost nothing. Disorientated, he had no idea which way was up and the silence caused by the water was eerie. Tristan looked around frantically. He couldn't afford to panic but the longer he remained underwater, the closer he could feel himself slipping. Squeezing his eyes closed, Tristan kicked, hoping that he was heading in the right direction. When he finally broke the surface, relief flowed through Tristan's body, only to be quickly replaced with the realization that he was still a long way from safe. The river was flowing swiftly and Tristan watched as the shore passed by. The van was no where in sight, nor were his friends. As far as Tristan could tell he was all alone…until he heard her voice.

"Tristan!" Rory's voice was horse from screaming. "Tristan! Over here!"

Treading water, Tristan turned and saw her clinging to a branch just upstream from himself. Tristan didn't know how long he had been in the water, but it was long enough to rob him of the strength to fight the current. All he could do was kick back towards Rory, making no progress and wait for her to reach him. As she floated past, Rory reached out and latched onto Tristan's outstretched arm. With great difficulty she pulled the larger boy up so that the upper half of his body was draped across the branch.

"Are you ok?" he asked.

"Ok would be an overstatement, but I'm breathing."

"You'll be fine." Tristan smiled; surprised he'd expected her to give a simple answer.

"Are you?" Rory turned her head to look at him.

"I'll survive."

"You hope." Rory muttered darkly. Exhausted, the teenagers collapsed onto the wood and let the river choose where they were to go.

-

When Rory opened her eyes again, she found that she couldn't move. In a flash of panic, she sat up and pushed the heavy weight off her stomach. Tristan groaned and woke up. Rory had rolled him off the branch and into the shallow water at the river's edge. Coughing, he dragged his lethargic body into a sitting position and looked around. Rory was sitting less than a metre away, examining her arms and legs, presumably checking for injuries.

"Are you ok?" Tristan asked. Rory fixed him with a look and he immediately felt stupid, "You know what I mean...relatively speaking."

"I'm ok." She nodded, "Are you?"

"I think so." He tentatively tried to stand. Sharp pains shot through his knee, but after a moment it took his weight and the pain eased slightly.

"Good. So where are we?" Rory showed no desire to get out of her water-logged position so Tristan craned his neck to look back upstream.

"I have no idea. I can't even see the bridge from here."

"Great." Rory sighed, "So we're lost, we have no van, our friends are-Oh God! Where _are_ our friends?"

"They probably just floated further down the river than us." Tristan had spent the majority of the ride along the current thinking about that very question. Deciding that optimism was the best course he smiled down at the girl by his feet, "They'll be fine. You know Jake, he's going to live forever just to spite everyone and Paris isn't likely to let Jake beat her is she?"

Forcing herself to smile, Rory allowed Tristan to haul her to her feet.

"If we stick to the water's edge, then we'll probably run into them." He suggested. Rory didn't speak as she followed him through the long grass. Neither teen had the energy it took to walk for miles, but both knew they would never sleep unless they had tried to find their friends.

--

Night fell with no sign of life on the river banks.

"Tristan…I need to sit down." Rory all but collapsed onto the grass before she'd finished speaking. With nothing but the clothes on their backs, they hadn't eaten all day and their exhaustion was starting to take its toll. Lying beside her, Tristan gazed at the sky.

"How the hell did we get here?"

"Physical ormetaphorical here?" Rory raised an eyebrow.

"Both." Tristan sighed, "This isn't meant to happen. Not to us. We're not in a movie…are we?"

"Well, if it's The Truman Show, then we may never know."

"It always comes out in the end."

"Yeah…something like that." Rory shrugged tiredly, "Do you honestly think they're ok?"

"Paris and Jake? Yeah I think they are. I meant it when I said they won't lose, and I'm pretty sure they'll see death as losing."

"I hope so."

"I know so."

"You know, you're actually decent when you're not being an ass." Rory looked thoughtfully down at him.

"Thank you…I think."

"It's a compliment."

"Well then thank you."

"You're welcome." Rory shivered as a cold gust of wind blew across the water.

"Here." Tristan sat up and shrugging his jacket off, wrapped it around her shoulders, "It's still kind of wet but it'll be better than nothing."

"But then you'll be cold."

"I'm tough."

"Here." Rory pulled the jacket off and lay next to him. The clothing was just big enough to stretch across both of them. Tristan could feel Rory shivering, pressed so closely to his own body as she drifted towards sleep.

"Up." He whispered and when Rory obediently leaned forward, slipped his arm behind her neck. Lying together under the stars, the two sworn enemies found peace and slumber as they prayed for the lives of their friends.


	8. no more for real this time

Okay I officially feel bad. As it's been MONTHS since I updated this story I'm sure you've all worked out that it's not getting finished. I am totally over Gilmore Girls. I have been for awhile and the fact that I'm at work when the new seasoneps areon here hasn't helped. I'm sorry to anyone who still cares (which I'm guessing is no one). I'm still writing – I'm currently working on a My Chemical Romance story for a friend of mine which amazingly I actually like (the story not my friend…well I do like my friend but that's not what I meant – OMG I'm tired!). It's too bad that I can't post it on here coz I'd love to share it with anyone who cares enough to have read this far down (what is wrong with you! Boredom's a bitch huh?) Right I'm gonna stop this now before I say something stupid (well more sothan I already have). So sorry again to anyone who was still interested in this story – though you have to admit it had been going downhill for while. Anyway review, message or email me if you have anything you wanna say – I'm all ears (well not literally) unless you're just gonna have a go coz then I just don't wanna hear it - I'm just not in the mood - but otherwise go for it - I love talking to random people - esp if you've got something interesting to say...okay I'm going off on a tangent again - I really need a leash.  
Rock on QuinnTam!


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